Archive for April 22nd, 2009

As promised yesterday (I rearranged things to publish this review two days early; yesterday’s post originally promised the gum review for Friday), I’ve got a new gum review for y’all courtesy of a generous box of free samples from Wrigley. By the way, they called me the wrong name in the form email they sent me, which I found amusing.

Orbit Mist is a new line from Orbit that’s distinguished by its inclusion of “micro-bursts”, which give you a hydrating sensation when the gum is chewed. I’ve never before wished that my chewing gum could be more hydrating, but it seems like a nice enough touch. Orbit Mist currently comes in three flavors, Mango Surf, Watermelon Spring, and Peppermint Spray.

I thought Mango Surf was an interesting flavor choice for a product launch, as it’s not a conventional flavor of gum or candy. The gum is the familiar little rectangle shape that all Orbit gum has, but it’s visibly flecked with the “micro-bursts”. In this case, it’s orange on orange. I appreciated the little design touch of the circles on the wrapper – very mod.

The “micro-bursts” add an initial crunch when you first chew the gum. And I don’t know how they work, but they work. They make the gum incredibly juicy for the first minute or so of chewing, after which the gum mellows into a soft, lightly flavored chew. The mango flavor is pretty impressively authentic at first – they captured that uniquely seedy flavor of mango, especially that of the flesh nearest to the pit- an even as it fades, a light fruity sweetness is maintained for a good chunk of time.

Watermelon Spring is green gum flecked with red “micro-bursts”. It’s surprisingly sour to start. Nothing too intensely puckery, but enough to make you notice. The juicy sourness quickly gives way to a pretty standard artificial watermelon flavor, like that of a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Again, the flavor holds up well enough and lingers as a mellow sweetness.

I started with the two fruit flavored gums, so I was interested as to how the juiciness, expected from fruits, would translate to a peppermint flavor. It’s anticlimactically totally okay and not at all weird. I did find the “micro-bursts” to be extra crunchy/poppy in this, but it could have been my imagination. The peppermint is freshly minty with just a tinge of sweetness to the finish, and it’s that slight sweetness that lingers in the gum after most of the mint flavor is gone.

All in all, I’m a fan of the “micro-bursts”. Contrary to what Conde Nast Portfolio will tell you, I’m not actually a gum addict, and I gave most of my extra packs away. If I were a gum addict, these would get a higher rating because they’re good, as far as gum goes. I think the fruit ones are worth an OM, while the peppermint gets an O because it’s hard to make peppermint gum exciting. In fact, the Peppermint Spray was about as exciting as peppermint gum can get. I’m hoping that Orbit continues to expand the Mist line to more flavors, especially citrus fruit flavors.